Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.64.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MRUS shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price (down from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Merus Price Performance

Merus stock opened at $43.16 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $46.02 and a 200-day moving average of $50.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.93 and a beta of 1.07. Merus has a 1 year low of $27.72 and a 1 year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. Equities analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,633 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 9,488 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 41.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the second quarter worth about $4,763,000. First Turn Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the 2nd quarter worth about $19,047,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Merus by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,398,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $141,937,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

About Merus

Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, engages in the development of antibody therapeutics in the Netherlands. Its bispecific antibody candidate pipeline includes Zenocutuzumab (MCLA-128), which is in a phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer, as well as in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors that harbor Neuregulin 1.